--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Moore"
<moorich@...> wrote:
<<I couldn't agree more. As Nevins was writing an
introduction to WALTZ, I wasn't surprised at his next line:
"But Woolrich's maniacal power as a writer makes it next to
impossible to think like a critic, and we are trapped in his
net like Louis in the woman- web.">>
Very astute observation. Borges made the same observation
about Cervantes, namely, that he silences criticism. A
college student
_could_ take his work apart and rewrite it more stylishly,
but the voice is so powerful that the defects, even very
visible ones, don't matter. I confess to having the same
weakness as Nevins regarding Woolrich. It's not that I can't
analyze his stories and novels, but I don't want to and I
know that what I could say is irrelevant. There aren't very
many writers who are so markedly "refractory to criticism"...
and while Cervantes was a normal guy, a street-smart soldier
and adventurer, Woolrich is unfathomable as a person. What a
phenomenon!
Best,
mrt
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